A tree fell on a New Jersey home during the middle of Tropical Storm Isaias Tuesday afternoon, trapping a seven-year-old girl inside the rubble.
But the father, Greg Ramirez, acted quickly to get his seven-year-old daughter and the rest of his family out of the house where he calls home in Wharton, New Jersey, NJ Advance Media reported.
A towering tree had crushed his two-story house on Baker Street, knocking out the power and surrounding him and his children in debris.
“Everything just went black,” he said.
The father first clutched nine-year-old Jayden in his arms, brought him to the kitchen, and told him to run outside. Then, he tried locating his seven-year-old daughter, Mia.
“I’m reaching with my left to see if I can feel her, because I couldn’t see her,” Ramirez told WABC. “Her little hand grabbed my hand. I grabbed with full force, and I yanked her out. She got scratched when I yanked her out.”
He rescued both children, getting them outside safely before going back inside the house to look for his fiance.
By the time the police and an ambulance arrived, Ramirez’s family was safely outside, with only minor injuries. Mia suffered from a light scratch with a bruise on her back from being taken out of the rubble.
A GoFundMe page has been started to help the family recoup their losses, as the house was a total loss. As of Monday afternoon, it has raised more than $38,000 out of its $50,000 goal.
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